Telephone Directory Assisted Dialing with Automatic Call Connect by Either an Intermediate Network Node or the Calling Party&#39;s Terminal

ABSTRACT

The application relates to a network assisted calling service comprising a service call to an assistance entity which translates an indication of a destinatin party into a destination identifier which is subsequently used for the establishment of a user call between the calling and the destination party. In the prior art the user call has either to be set up manually by the calling terminal or it is set up by the network node to which the assistance entity is connected which suffers from disadvantages with respect to routing, complex charging schemes, etcetera. In the method of the invention, this is resolved by said destination identifier being returned through a signalling channel associated with the operative connection. The destination identifier is either returned to the calling party&#39;s terminal (C) or is returned to a network node (N). Either the terminal (C) or the network node (N) subsequently set up the user call.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is related to a method of providing a networkassisted calling service to a calling party in a telecommunicationsnetwork, wherein said network assisted calling service is facilitatedthrough an assistance entity in said network, said method comprising thesteps of: establishing an operative connection between said callingparty and said assistance entity through said network; said callingparty providing an indication of a destination party to said assistanceentity; said assistance entity determining a destination identifierbased on said indication for identifying said destination party in saidnetwork.

The invention is further related to an assistance entity and a switchingnode for use with a method as described above.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In order to provide communication services using a telecommunicationsnetwork, operators of telecommunications network are offering networkservices that assist subscribers with call establishment. Examples ofsuch services include voice assisted dialing, and directory assisteddialing, the latter either with or without automatic call connect. Theseservices entail that the subscriber dials a service number, and isconnected to the network service or assistance entity facilitating theservice. The subscriber may, in case of voice assisted dialing,pronounce the number or, in case of directory assisted dialing,pronounce the name of the desired destination party. The network servicethen retrieves the required destination identifier (e.g. telephonenumber) of the destination party, and dependent on the service eitherreturns the destination identifier to the calling party, or (in case ofautomatic call connect and voice assisted dialing) connects the callingparty to the destination party, or both.

The above described services suffer from a number of disadvantages aswill be explained below.

In case of voice assisted dialing, or directory assisted dialing withautomatic call connect, a disadvantage of these services is that therouting of the call through the telecommunications network is notperformed in an efficient manner. The call is typically routed from anetwork node to which the assistance entity is connected, or from whichthe network service is initiated. From this network node, the call isrouted or forwarded to the required destination. It is noted thatrerouting of the call from this network node, is not necessarily themost efficient path through the network. To give an example, suppose thecalling party and the destination party are connected to the same localnetwork node, and the assistance entity facilitating the service isconnected to a remote network node, the call from the calling party tothe destination party is routed from the local network node, to theremote network node, back to the local network node, and to thedestination party. In this case, the call is using the branch betweenthe local network node and the remote network node twice (to and fromthe remote network node), while the most efficient routing of the callwould not even use this branch (in fact would not use any branch in thenetwork).

Another disadvantage of the voice assisted calling service or directoryassisted calling service with automated call connect, is that chargingof these call becomes unnecessarily complex on behalf of the networkoperator. In particular where the calling party is, for example, aprepaid subscriber, the local network node will only know the diallednumber which is the service number. The eventual destination of the callbetween the calling party and the destination party is unknown, and thisproblem has to be resolved at a later stage in order to effectivelycharge the call.

Other, similar services include for example directory assistance callingwithout automatic call connect. In this case, the calling partyestablishes an operative connection with the assistance entity, andprovides the assistance entity with (for example) the name of thedestination party. The assistance entity returns the destination numberto the calling party, either by mentioning the destination number to thecalling party using an open voice service call, or differently bysending an SMS-message (Short Messaging Service (SMS)) to the callingparty including the destination number.

A disadvantage of this type of service is that, where the destinationnumber is provided through an ongoing voice service call, e.g. bypronouncing the destination number, the user has to memorize thedestination number and subsequently dial the number on his telephone.Not only is this cumbersome to the calling party, but in case of acommunicational error (e.g. the user has misinterpreted the destinationnumber as it is pronounced), setting up the call may fail. Even a stepof writing down the destination number does not completely eliminatethis risk.

On the other hand, there where the destination number is provided bysending a short messaging service-message (SMS-message), a disadvantageis that the transmission of an SMS-message puts an additional demand onthe network resources, since it is an additional communication serviceto be provided through the telecommunications network.

Another disadvantage of sending the destination number by SMS, is thatfor establishing a call to the destination party, user intervention isrequired. The SMS must be opened by the user, and the destination numbermust be called by the user.

Further Disadvantage of SMS SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide a network assistedcalling service which overcomes the problems and disadvantages of theprior art, which uses the available network resources in an optimalmanner, and which enables automatically establishing the desired call.

This object is achieved by the present invention in that there isprovided a method of providing a network assisted calling service to acalling party in a telecommunications network, wherein said networkassisted calling service is facilitated through an assistance entity insaid network, said method comprising the steps of: establishing anoperative connection between said calling party and said assistanceentity through said network; said calling party providing an indicationof a destination party to said assistance entity; said assistance entitydetermining a destination identifier based on said indication foridentifying said destination party in said network; and said assistanceentity returning said destination identifier, wherein said destinationidentifier is returned through a signalling channel associated with saidoperative connection.

Signalling channels in the telecommunications network are designed andused for exchanging internal instructions between different nodes andentities on the network. By returning the destination identifier througha signalling channel, the destination number is received by any entity(such as a network node, a connected terminal, or any other entity)which receives the instructions in the signalling channel. Since networkentities are designed to actively respond to instructions transmittedthrough the signalling channel, the transmission of the destinationidentifier through the signalling channel also enables automaticallyconnecting a calling party to the destination party identified by thedestination identifier. This may be performed by any of the entitiesconnected to the network which receives the destination identifierthrough the signalling channel. Therefore, routing of a subsequent callto a destination party may be performed from any entity receiving thedestination identifier, e.g. a local network node to which the callingparty is connected. Network resources can be used in the most efficientmanner.

In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, the method furthercomprises a step of establishing a user call between the calling partyand the destination party, using the destination identifier. As will beappreciated, this is the most preferred solution, although it is not anessential step of the method of the invention described. Alternatively,the user call between the calling party and the destination party is notautomatically established, but the destination identifier may simply beforwarded to the terminal station of the calling party (this will bedescribed herein below). The calling party may then at any time stilldecide to call the destination party while, for example, the destinationidentifier is automatically stored in the memory of the terminalstation.

In accordance with another embodiment of the invention, the operativeconnection between the calling party and the assistance entity isestablished through one or more switching nodes in the network, and thedestination identifier is returned to at least one of said networknodes. In particular, this enables routing from a subsequent user callbetween the calling party and the destination party from any of theintermediate network node involved in the operative connection betweenthe assistance entity and the calling party.

Therefore, in accordance with another embodiment of the invention, thedestination identifier which is sent through said signalling channel, isaccompanied by a reconnect instruction for establishing the user call.This reconnect instruction may be intended for any of the switchingnodes involved, enabling it to setup the call with the destinationparty.

According to yet another embodiment the user call is established by theat least one switching node upon receiving of the destinationidentifier. The network node may automatically connect the calling partyto the destination party when the destination identifier is received.

It will be appreciated that with the method described above, an assistedcalling service with automated call connect may be established, whichdoes not suffer from any of the disadvantages of the prior art.

According to yet another embodiment, the destination identifier isreturned to a terminal station of the calling party, as was alreadydescribed herein above. This enables the terminal station to store thedestination identifier in its memory, or (alternatively or in addition)inform the calling party of the received destination identifier, inaccordance with another embodiment.

The terminal station may also be arranged for establishing the user callafter the destination identifier is received. It will be understood thatthe destination identifier received through the signalling channel mayeasily be used by the terminal station to setup the call to thedestination party automatically. An advantage of this solution is thatin the telecommunications network, the call to the assistance entity andthe call to the destination party may easily be identified asindependent calls over the telecommunications networks, simplifying thecharging structure to be applied for both calls. As will be appreciated,if automatic dialing of the destination party is not desired, theterminal station may be designed for prompting the calling party priorto setting up the user call. This enables the user to make the user callto the destination party at any suitable point in time.

The destination identifier may be included in an already existingsignalling message being exchanged between network nodes in relation tothe operative connection between the calling party and the assistanceentity. In accordance with an embodiment the signalling messagecomprises a release connection message sent by said assistance entityfor ending the operative connection. Setting up the user call to thedestination party may be performed directly in response to receipt ofthe release connection message. More generally the destinationidentifier is returned on ending of the operative connection.

The telecommunications network may be any of a group comprising a mobiletelecommunications network, or a fixed telecommunications network. Theuser call may include any element of a group comprising a voicetelephony call, a video telephony call or a data exchange call.

It is particularly noted, that the operative connection between thecalling party and the assistance entity may be facilitated through aservice call, and that the service call may be a voice telephony call, avideo telephony call, a data exchange call, or the like. The servicecall to the assistance entity may be of a different type than the usercall between the calling party and the destination party.

In accordance with the second aspect of the present invention, there isprovided an assistance entity for use in a method as described above,comprising means for establishing an operative connection with a callingparty through a telecommunications network, means for receiving anindication of a destination party, means for providing a destinationidentifier based on said indication received, and means for returningsaid destination identifier, wherein said means for returning saiddestination identifier is arranged for returning said identifier througha signalling channel.

In particular the means for providing the destination identifier maycomprise a database for storage of party information of a plurality ofconnected parties of the telecommunications network. It is noted, as theskilled person will appreciate, that the invention is not limited toproviding connections between parties having a subscription with asingle telecommunications provider. A database as described above maycomprise party information from parties connected to a plurality ofinterconnected networks.

In accordance with yet another embodiment, the assistance entity furthercomprises means for forming a query for querying the database mentionedherein above, wherein the means for forming a query comprises at leastone element of a group comprising automatic querying means arranged forautomatically forming a query based on said indication provided by saidcalling party, or operator controlled querying means arranged forreceiving an input from an operator and forming a query based on thisinput. Said input provided by said operator, if said operator controlledquerying means, comprises said indication received by said operator fromsaid calling party.

In accordance with a third aspect, there is provided a switching nodefor use in a method as described herein above, said switching nodecomprising means for establishing an operative connection between acalling party and an assistance entity, means for receiving adestination identifier from said assistance entity through a signallingchannel associated with the operative connection, and means forestablishing a user call between said calling party and a destinationparty identified by said destination identifier.

The invention will now further be elucidated by means of specificexamples, with reference to the enclosed drawings. It is noted that thedetailed description of the example is only provided for explanatorypurposes only, and does not limit the scope of the invention, whichscope is determined by the independent claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is the schematic illustration of an arrangement for performingthe method of the present invention.

FIG. 2 schematically illustrates an embodiment of the method of thepresent invention.

FIG. 3 schematically illustrates an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 schematically shows a telecommunications network 1 comprised of aplurality of network nodes 3, 4, 5, 6. A calling party, schematicallyindicated with terminal unit 12, is enabled to establish a mobileconnection 13 with a radio communication unit 10. The radiocommunication unit 10 is connected to a base station 9, which in itsturn is connected to network node 3. To network node 6, there isconnected an assistance entity 15 arranged for facilitating a directoryassisted calling service using the telecommunications network 1. Theassistance entity 15 is operatively connected to a database 16comprising information regarding a plurality of parties connected to, orreachable through the telecommunications network 1. To network node 4there is connected an intended destination party having a regular fixedphone terminal unit 18.

Using a method of the present invention, a network provider may providea directory assisted calling service through the telecommunicationsnetwork 1, using assistance entity 15. Using the service, a callingparty uses his terminal unit 12 to connect through wireless connection13, radio communication unit 10 and base station 9 to network node 3,connecting further to network node 6 and assistance entity 15. Anoperative connection between terminal unit 12 and assistance entity 15is hereby established. The calling party may for instance pronounce thename of the destination party through a regular voice based service callto the assistance entity 15. The assistance entity 15 may look up thedestination identifier in database 16.

According to the invention, the destination identifier retrieved fromthe database 16 is included in a signalling message and is sent along asignalling path associated with the operative connection between theterminal unit 12 and the assistance entity 15. For example, upontermination of the service call between the assistance entity 15 and thecalling party 12, the destination identifier may be included in arelease connection signalling message which is sent along the networkback to calling party 12, to inform all of the network nodes 3, 6 andthe base station 9 of the termination of the service call.

In accordance with the invention, the destination identifier may eitherbe sent to any of the network nodes involved in the communication, suchas network nodes 3 or 6, or may be forwarded back to the terminationunit 12 of the calling party. This will be described below.

In FIG. 2, the method of the present invention is schematicallyillustrated. The table of FIG. 2 comprises five columns, indicated withthe letters C, N, A, Db, and D. Steps performed at the calling party arefound in column C. Steps performed at any of the intermediate networknodes, such as network nodes 3 and 6 of network 1 in FIG. 1, can befound in column N. Steps performed at the assistance entity can be foundin column A. Steps performed by the database, such as database 16 ofFIG. 1, can be found in the column indicated with Db, and stepsperformed at the destination party are found in column D.

The method of the present invention is initiated by the calling party Cwhich is trying to establish a connection with assistance entity A instep 20. Although the calling party C will generally not notice theinvolvement of any of the network nodes (as is indicated by the dottedblock 22), the operative connection between the calling party C and theassistance entity A is established through the network node N as isindicated in block 22. The assistance entity 24 answers the service callwith calling party C in step 24, and receives from the calling party Can indication of the destination party D desired. This indication may bea name of the destination party D, or any other suitable indication suchas address information. The assistance entity A consults database Db,which in step 26 provides a destination identifier to assistance entityA. The assistance entity A is step 28 includes the destinationidentifier in a release connection signalling message, and as a resultterminates the service call which was setup by calling party C.

The release connection message is received by one of the network nodesN, e.g. network node 3 of FIG. 1. In an intelligent network (IN), therelease connection message may be notified by the assistance entity ininterrupt mode, in which case the call release is notified back throughthe telecommunications network, but not completely back to thetermination unit, such that a connection between the termination unitand any of the desired network nodes, such as network node 3, remainsactive. The network node N, such as network node 3, in step 30establishes the connection with the destination party D, based on thedestination identifier received from the assistance entity A.

It is noted that using a method according to FIG. 2, it is even possibleto connect the calling party C to the destination party D, withoutrevealing the destination identifier of destination party D to callingparty C. A benefit of this is that destination party D may use a secretdestination number or telephone number, and does not want to provide hisdestination identifier to any third party. The destination party D mayhowever give his consent to receiving incoming user calls that have beenestablished using a directory assisted calling service throughassistance entity A. In other words, the calling party C will never beinformed of the destination identifier for destination party D, howeverdestination party D can be reached by any party if use is made of thedirectory assisted calling service through assistance entity A.Optionally, identification information of calling party C which istrying to reach destination party D may in this case be recorded byassistance entity A, and optionally destination party D may notifyassistance entity A of any party for which a connection with destinationparty D should preferably not be established.

FIG. 3 schematically illustrates another embodiment of the method of thepresent invention. The columns of the table in FIG. 3 carry the samereferences C, N, A, Db, D as in FIG. 2, indicating the same or similarparties. In the method of FIG. 3, the calling party establishes in step40, through network node N (in step 42) a connection with a assistanceentity A. In step 44, the assistance entity A receives an indication ofthe destination part D from calling party C, and consults database Db.The database Db in step 46 returns the destination identifier to theassistance entity A. The assistance entity A in step 48 includes thedestination identifier in a signalling message, such as a releaseconnection message, through the signalling channel associated with theoperative connection between calling party C and assistance entity A.This release connection method, including the destination identifier, isreceived in step 50 by calling party C, which automatically terminatesthe connection with assistance entity A and establishes a user call withdestination party D in step 50. Destination party D in step 52 receivesthe incoming user call and answers it, such that the user call isestablished.

Optionally, instead of automatically setting up the call between theterminal unit of calling party C and the destination party D, theterminal unit, such as terminal unit 12 of FIG. 1, may prompt thecalling party using the terminal unit whether or not the call should beestablished immediately, or whether the destination identifier should bestored for later use. This has the advantage that the calling party C isin complete control of the situation.

The feature of receiving the destination identifier through thesignalling channel and establishing automatically a connection with thedestination party, may not be a standard feature of the terminal unitused by the calling party C for establishing the connection. Inparticular, a software application may be loaded in the memory of theterminal unit of calling party C that enables the terminal unit toperform this function. In this case, the assistance entity A should bydefault make use of a method such as is described in relation to FIG. 2,wherein the network node establishes the connection with destinationparty D. The terminal unit of the calling party C may, upon setting upthe operative connection with assistance entity A, include an indicationthat it is capable of performing the function of setting up aconnection, if the destination identifier is forwarded to the terminalunit through a signalling message. The method described in relation toFIG. 3, is in that case, only performed when the terminal unit of thecalling party C is capable of performing that function.

The embodiment of the method according to the invention which isdescribed in relation to FIG. 3 has multiple advantages. One of theadvantages of this embodiment is that a complete new communicationsession is provided in addition to the service call to the assistanceentity. This not only enables a much more convenient and simple chargingscheme for the network provider, but it also enables the use of numerousvalue added services provided by the network provider in relation to theestablishment of calls through the network. Examples of these are theperforming of call barring checks, number translation, etc.

A specific advantage of the method as described in relation to FIG. 3,is related to the situation wherein the operative connection with theassistance entity is performed using a service call of a different typethan the user call to be established between the calling party and thedestination party. For example, when the calling party C uses a regularvoice based service call to provide the assistance entity A with theindication of the destination party D, whereas the calling party Cdesires to setup a video telephony call with the destination party D,the service call to the assistance entity A may be routed via networkbearers that are not capable of supporting video conferences. In thatcase, since the destination identifier is returned to the terminal unitof the calling party C, and since an independent user call has to be setup subsequent to terminating the service call, the telecommunicationsnetwork will automatically select a suitable bearer, with a suitablebearer capability, for setting up the video telephony call.

It will be appreciated by the persons skilled in the art that numerousmodifications and variations in the light of the above teachings belongto the possibilities for implementing the invention. It is noted thatthe scope of the invention is only limited by the scope of the appendedclaims.

1. Method of providing a network assisted calling service to a callingparty in a telecommunications network, wherein said network assistedcalling service is facilitated through an assistance entity in saidnetwork, said method comprising the steps of: establishing an operativeconnection between said calling party and said assistance entity throughsaid network; said calling party providing an indication of adestination party to said assistance entity; said assistance entitydetermining a destination identifier based on said indication foridentifying said destination party in said network; and said assistanceentity returning said destination identifier, wherein said destinationidentifier is returned through a signalling channel associated with saidoperative connection.
 2. Method according to claim 1, further comprisinga step of establishing a user call between said calling party and saiddestination party using said destination identifier.
 3. Method accordingto any of the claims 1 or 2, wherein said operative connection isestablished through one or more switching nodes in said network, whereinsaid destination identifier is returned to at least one of said networknodes.
 4. Method according to claim 3, wherein said destinationidentifier sent through said signalling channel is accompanied by areconnect instruction for establishing said user call.
 5. Methodaccording to claim 2, and any of the claims 3 or 4, wherein said usercall is established by said at least one switching node upon receivingsaid destination identifier.
 6. Method according to any of the previousclaims, wherein said destination identifier is returned to a terminalstation of said calling party.
 7. Method according to claim 6, whereinsaid calling party is informed of said destination identifier by saidterminal station.
 8. Method according to claim 2, and any of the claims6 or 7, wherein said user call is established by said terminal stationafter receiving said destination identifier.
 9. Method according toclaim 8, wherein said calling party is prompted by said terminal stationfor establishing said user call.
 10. Method according to any of theprevious claims, wherein said destination identifier is included in asignalling message.
 11. Method according to claim 9, wherein saidsignalling message comprises a release connection message sent by saidassistance entity for ending said operative connection.
 12. Methodaccording to any of the previous claims, wherein said destinationidentifier is returned on ending of said operative connection. 13.Method according to any of the previous claims, wherein saidtelecommunications network is an element of a group comprising a mobiletelecommunications network, or a fixed telecommunications network. 14.Method according to any of the previous claims, as dependent on claim 3,wherein said user call is an element selected from a group comprising avoice telephony call, a video telephony call, a data exchange call. 15.Method according to any of the previous claims, wherein said operativeconnection between said calling party and said assistance entity isfacilitated through a service call between said calling party and saidassistance entity, said service call being an element selected from agroup comprising a voice telephony call, a video telephony call, a dataexchange call.
 16. Assistance entity for use in a method according toany of the claims 1-15, comprising means for establishing an operativeconnection with a calling party through a telecommunications network,means for receiving an indication of a destination party, means forproviding a destination identifier based on said indication received,and means for returning said destination identifier, wherein said meansfor returning said destination identifier is arranged for returning saididentifier through a signalling channel.
 17. Assistance entity accordingto claim 16, wherein means for returning said destination identifier isarranged for returning said identifier on ending said received operativeconnection.
 18. Assistance entity according to any of the claims 16 or17, wherein said means for providing said destination identifiercomprises a database for storage of party information of a plurality ofconnected parties of said telecommunications network.
 19. Assistanceentity according to claim 18, further comprising means for forming aquery for querying said database, wherein said means for forming a querycomprises at least one element of a group comprising automatic queryingmeans arranged for automatically forming a query based on saidindication provided by said calling party, or operator controlledquerying means arranged for receiving an input from an operator andforming a query based on said input.
 20. Switching node for use in amethod according to any of the claims 1-15, said switching nodecomprising means for establishing an operative connection between acalling party and an assistance entity, means for receiving adestination identifier from said assistance entity through a signallingchannel associated with said operative connection, and means forestablishing a user call between said calling party and a destinationparty identified by said destination identifier.
 21. Switching nodeaccording to claim 19, wherein said means for establishing said usercall are arranged for establishing said user call upon ending of saidoperative connection.